Prusa I3 aluminium frame

hi everyone
looking to build myself a Prusa i3 in the coming months and want to go the single plate aluminium frame route; been doing a bit of digging around and found a few online O/S but wondering if anyone has had a 'local shop' cut the frame? and what sort of price I'd be looking at.

Thanks in advance. Im sure I will have lots of questions as I progress.

Hi Builditbigger,

I want to get an aluminium frame too. I haven't had the chance to get any quotes myself (getting married, work and uni) but if we can get say, 10 people interested, I think we would get a reasonable price.

I'm going to get some quotes and will report back here shortly.

I guess the plan would be:
1. get best quote circulate;
2. arrange for a deposit (~50%?) from those who want one;
3. Place an order;
4. I'll pickup and pay when order is complete;
5. Pay remaining 50% on pickup from my work during business hours;
6. for those who don't pick up within a few weeks, I'll keep their deposit and sell their plate on eBay to recover my loss.

So if anyone else is interested, post a message indicating your interest and I'll keep a tally.

Cheers,

Harry.

Im in for this also!

Hi all,

I've been getting quotes which vary from $85-$95.

The drill holes are too small for laser cutters you'd either have to drill them yourself.

I'm going try out the hackerspace in gladesville to see if they can help out: Robodino.org

Maybe we can get them to sell them ....

Cheers,

Harry

Hi, I have built a CNC Mill and also building other pieces of machinery.Small table saw for home use.
For 8mm precision ground rod and bronze sintered bearings go to any photocopier repairer, they throw out the sections of print which customers have already paided for. I am building a second 3dprinter and have used this ewaste!
I never pay full price for Aluminium section.
I go to my local scrap metal dealer and buy sections for as little as $5.
Cut it up with a metal cutting disc on an angle grinder. If you want accuracity look up "hack a day" from memory or in fact goggle it which has a small jig to holds the angle grinder still while you cut to set lengths.
Thats my 2 cents worth. Happy building.
Colin
Pennant Hills NSW

Did you ever get anywhere with Aluminium i3 plates? I'm in Sydney, occasionally go to robodino, and am going to build an i3 so if you found someone to water jet cut these i'd love to hear your recommendation! There are plenty of places that offer this, but I haven't inquired about pricing yet, but as always a recommendation is better than just price. And if you didn't take this any further, let me know if you want one and I'll see what I can do

Hi Poundy,

Quotes: I got a few quotes for "cut and supply" but they are $80 each if I buy in bulk (10+). I guess it would be cheaper if you can source your own aluminium.

Outcome: I ended up buying a composite (aluminum and plastic) plate version from eBay for $70. I'm guessing that a composite plate is cheaper because it has less Aluminium but so far so good. The guy on eBay is now selling them with printed parts for $150 (IMHO, a bit expensive).

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Prusa-i3-Frame-Aluminium-Y-carriage-and-Printed-ABS-Parts-Reprap-/171272187424

Cheers,

Harry

Good idea. When I update my Prusa Iteration 2 to an i3, I'm going to look for some scrap metal.

Thanks Colin

Harry M, who in Sydney was doing them for $80 each ? Most prices I got were around $250